SJA Best Pundit award winner Holding explains passion behind testimony against racial injustice 

(SPORTS MAX) Legendary West Indies fast bowler turned pundit, Michael Holding, has revealed his powerful, impassioned plea for an end to institutionalised racism had just come ‘spilling’ out, following the death of American George Floyd.

Floyd’s death, at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin last year, prompted global outcry and worldwide protests.  In response to the incident, Holding gave powerful testimony about racial injustice, during Sky Cricket’s coverage of England against West Indies in July 2020.

Holding won the Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) Award for Best Pundit in 2020 at the SJA Awards and Sky Sports won the Sports Network of the Year category.  The Sports Pundit award is decided by an SJA Members’ vote.

The West Indian revealed the speak has simply come from thoughts that have been buried deep in his consciousness for a number of years now.

“People don’t understand what it is like to go through life and always thinking that people think less of you than what you think of yourself,” Holding said at the online awards ceremony.

“It can be a little bit tiring and when I got that opportunity it just came spilling out,” he added.

He, however, holds out hope that the process that could lead to lasting change has already begun.

“If you just look at the protests on the road and look at the faces of the people that were on the road. I saw a Swedish women’s football team take a knee before a game, so it is going all over the world that people are recognising that things need to be done, and it’s about time it did.”